Genius

Here in Egypt we have 80, 90, 92, and 95 octane fuel. I heard from a couple of people that TSi engines require 95 or the engine will die. Is that true? Would you happen to know if it can run on 92 just fine with no complications or long-term problems even if it means a slight sacrifice of performance?

Thank you guys.

By the way, I'm talking about the 2012 Volkswagen Jetta 1.4 TSi specifically.

Moderator

The TSi means Turbo Stratified injection. Any petrol car with a turbo should use the highest octane fuel available. Not a very good idea because petrol (where I'm from) is very expensive, especially the higher octanes.

You should use 95. Using anything lower should be for emergency top-ups i.e to get you to a garage that has 95. If you use a low octane fuel in a TSi you'll have a build up of Carbon in the engine, effectively giving you a crap mpg.

Genius

The TSi means Turbo Stratified injection. Any petrol car with a turbo should use the highest octane fuel available. Not a very good idea because petrol (where I'm from) is very expensive, especially the higher octanes.

You should use 95. Using anything lower should be for emergency top-ups i.e to get you to a garage that has 95. If you use a low octane fuel in a TSi you'll have a build up of Carbon in the engine, effectively giving you a crap mpg.

Unfortunately, I cannot trust the dealerships here. The sales people just want to sell you the car so they can get a bonus in their paycheck, and they do not care about whatever happens afterwards. I know that from experience as well as because I have friends who work as salesmen in a couple of showrooms; however, none of them know about the fuel thing which is why I'm asking.

I don't really care about the gas mileage that much since the two cars I've had were both 1.6 and not very gas efficient, at least when compared TSi engines' claims. To me it's really all about whether or not it will harm the engine and cause problems for it on the long-run. I mean I don't want to be driving around and then my car would suddenly stop and it turns out to be a dead engine, you know? A friend of mine told me that yes, the manual should say, but I don't know where to obtain that as the cars' vouchers don't say, but he also told me that it is usually written on the back of the car's injection door.

I found this post to be really helpful:

"95 RON in Egypt is roughly equivalent to 91 (R+M)/2 in the States, which is what the TSI engines call for as a minimum specification. Yes, the ECU will "adapt" to a lower fuel standard, but you risk a lot of stupid crap happening. Plus, when the ECU is retarding fuel mix and spark, your power and gas mileage will suffer. You also run the risk of knocking and premature detonation.

Newer DSG transmissions are nowhere near as problematic as the earlier ones, but they still have their niggling little issues. Best bet is to buy the manual.

Bottom line is run what your car calls for. Yeah, it costs more at the pump, but it'll run better for a lot longer and save you the headaches in the future."

So I 'm thinking I shouldn't bother, since 95 is actually the "minimum" specification, which won't even be as smooth as one would think.

As technology advances so does the price of everything. I'd steer clear of TSi, especially if you can't get the right fuel. Trust me when I say you'll see a noticeable reduction in performance in as little as a few weeks. As you so rightly said your cars on board computer will try to adapt, but it's constantly making assumptions which will make other things work harder than others. You'll probably need a new fuel pump within 18 months because your ECU will be calling for more fuel etc etc. Suppose it'll be covered by warranty, but do you want to be handing loads of cash over for services and faults?

Buy a skateboard and strap a two-stroke engine to it - more fuel efficient and more exciting!

Last bike I rode was when I was 20, it was a tuned YZ250. I miss those days... flying through farmers fields over make-shift jumps at 70mph. I'm surprised I'm not dead, half the crap I've done in the past.

Genius

Last bike I rode was when I was 20, it was a tuned YZ250. I miss those days... flying through farmers fields over make-shift jumps at 70mph. I'm surprised I'm not dead, half the crap I've done in the past.

Wow.. I would never do such things. I'm a pretty careful person, but sometimes I just lose control while driving when it's too damn crowded and the road opens up after about an hour and a half of moving only 1 kilometer just because some douche decided to park in the middle of the street and then another does the same in order to fight with him. lol

Moderator

Wow.. I would never do such things. I'm a pretty careful person, but sometimes I just lose control while driving when it's too damn crowded and the road opens up after about an hour and a half of moving only 1 kilometer just because some douche decided to park in the middle of the street and then another does the same in order to fight with him. lol

You get all that in the UK as well, unfortunately. I drove from Manchester to Leeds and the main motorway is the M62, which has average speed check cameras and amount of congestion it causes turns an hours drive into 3 hours

Genius

You get all that in the UK as well, unfortunately. I drove from Manchester to Leeds and the main motorway is the M62, which has average speed check cameras and amount of congestion it causes turns an hours drive into 3 hours